Center for Consumer Freedom

[Guest guest]

This group took out a full page ad in today's Washington Post claiming that

the obesity epidemic is " hype " . At their website here's who they say they

are:

" The Center for Consumer Freedom is a nonprofit coalition of restaurants,

food companies, and consumers working together to promote personal

responsibility and protect consumer choices.

The growing cabal of " food cops, " health care enforcers, militant

activists, meddling bureaucrats, and violent radicals who think they know

" what's best for you " are pushing against our basic freedoms. We're here to

push back. "

[Guest guest]

Hi Francesca:

I shall watch whatever they supply as 'evidence' with interest. Of

course they are not what one would call disinterested observers. So

I would expect to see them pursue an entirely one-sided hunt for

information that appears able to be slanted to support their case,

while studiously ignoring any evidence for the other side of the

argument. Perhaps, but not likely, I will be pleasantly surprised.

All we need to do is follow your admonition to take account of all

the evidence from serious sources.

Of course I support food suppliers' efforts to supply consumers with

whatever it is they demand as evidenced by what they preferentially

buy. In the past couple of decades that has meant larger and larger

portions of food on the one hand, and with no regard to the health of

the contents of those servings on the other. So one cannot blame the

food suppliers for supplying the foods people show by their

purchasing behaviour they are determined to buy.

Rodney.

> This group took out a full page ad in today's Washington Post

claiming that

> the obesity epidemic is " hype " . At their website here's who they

say they

> are:

>

> " The Center for Consumer Freedom is a nonprofit coalition of

restaurants,

> food companies, and consumers working together to promote personal

> responsibility and protect consumer choices.

>

> The growing cabal of " food cops, " health care enforcers, militant

> activists, meddling bureaucrats, and violent radicals who think

they know

> " what's best for you " are pushing against our basic freedoms. We're

here to

> push back. "

[Guest guest]

Hi folks:

Just one quick look at the home page of the 'Center for Consumer

Freedom' will tell you all you want to know about the group, lolol.

Rodney.

> This is a follow up article about the group I mentioned yesterday

that took

> out a full page ad in the WP.

>

> _________________________________________________

>

> The Escalating Obesity Wars

>

> By Caroline E. Mayer and Amy Joyce

>

> The full-page newspaper ads shout " Hype " at readers, warning them

that

> they have " been force-fed a steady diet of obesity myths by

the 'food

> police,' trial lawyers, and even our own government. "

>

> The sponsor, the Center for Consumer Freedom, is a " nonprofit

organization

> dedicated to protecting consumer choices and promoting common

sense, " the ad

> notes.

>

> The group was founded about 10 years ago with tobacco-company and

> restaurant money to fight smoking curbs in restaurants. Back then,

the group

> called itself Guest Choice Network. But it changed its name in

2001, as it

> shifted its focus to food and beverage issues, raised by concerns

about

> obesity, mad cow disease and genetically modified products.

>

> The group and its ads are the brainchild of Berman, a

Washington

> lobbyist and lawyer who is the center's executive director. Berman

is also

> president of Berman & Co., a public affairs firm that in 2003

received more

> than $1.1 million in compensation from the nonprofit group -- more

than a

> third of its revenue that year, according to its most recent tax

returns.

>

> Berman, 62, also is the founder of two other restaurant-supported

groups:

> the American Beverage Institute, which fights restrictions on

alcohol use,

> and the Employment Policies Institute Foundation, which has argued

against

> raising the minimum wage -- a move that would hurt restaurants

because of

> their large staffs of low-wage workers.

>

> Philip USA Inc. pledged $600,000 -- most of the seed money -

- for

> Berman's group in 1995. The company said it needed a consultant who

was both

> a " hospitality industry insider as well as a legislatively astute

> individual, " according to documents collected as part of the multi-

state

> lawsuit against tobacco companies. Under the 1998 settlement, the

documents

> were made public. Philip continued to give money to Berman

for

> several years, as did restaurant firms such as Host Marriott Corp.

and

> Brinker International Inc., which owns the Chili's Grill & Bar and

> Maggiano's Little Italy restaurant chains. Neither firm returned

phone calls

> about their ties to the Center for Consumer Freedom.

>

> Berman declined to give specifics about who funds the Center for

Consumer

> Freedom. He said only that it is funded by a coalition of

restaurant and

> food companies as well as some individuals. " It doesn't add

anything " to

> give details, Berman said.

>

> According to Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington,

a

> watchdog group funded by several educational foundations, Berman

and his

> firm have received more than $7 million since 1997 from the Center

for

> Consumer Freedom and one of the other groups he founded. Last fall,

the

> watchdog group asked the Internal Revenue Service to revoke the

Center for

> Consumer Freedom's 501©(3) tax-exempt status. The watchdog group

said

> Berman has used the center to funnel money to himself and his

company, a

> violation of federal tax law that bars companies or individuals

from running

> a nonprofit for their private benefit. The organization also said

that the

> group's activities were solely to promote the causes of restaurants

and food

> producers, not consumers. Its activities, the organization said,

are " not

> remotely charitable. "

>

> S. Tenenbaum, a Washington lawyer who specializes in

nonprofit tax

> law, said that generally, for a group to qualify as a 501©(3)

educational

> organization " there has to be bona fide education of the general

public on

> given issues as compared to advocating particular industry

positions. "

> Otherwise, the group should qualify as a 501©(6), a trade and

professional

> group. While both are both tax-exempt, a 501©(6) cannot receive

> tax-deductible charitable contributions.

>

> Berman called Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in

Washington's

> charges " a silly thing . . . totally and factually false. " It's not

unusual,

> he said, for public affairs firms to manage nonprofits, and the

expenses his

> firm received were to " buy all sorts of things, including employee

time,

> rent, phones. " Berman said the Center for Consumer Freedom is a

legitimate,

> nonprofit educational group. " I haven't heard from the IRS, and I

don't

> expect to; there's nothing to it. "

>

> " It's pretty obvious we're advocating from a point of view, "

Berman said.

> " But you can advocate and educate at the same time. "

>

> Berman said the charges are the " cost of doing business " of

criticizing

> well-known activist groups such as People for the Ethical Treatment

of

> Animals, Center for Science in the Public Interest and the

Physicians

> Committee for Responsible Medicine. " It's to be expected when you

give

> people a little heartburn, they don't like what you're doing. "

>

> Berman is not shy about going after groups his organizations

oppose. A Web

> site sponsored by the Center for Consumer Freedom, ActivistCash.com,

> includes in-depth profiles of groups, including Mothers Against

Drunk

> Driving, detailing their funding and key players. " Despite their

> innocent-sounding names, many of these organizations are financial

Goliaths

> that use junk science, intimidation tactics, and even threats of

violence to

> push their radical agenda, " the Web site says.

>

> Berman himself has said these groups have " a violent side to them "

and will

> try to shut down firms whose activities run counter to their goals.

He said

> that is why he won't name the companies who support his

organization.

>

> The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine scoffed at that

> assertion, saying its " policies would specifically exclude anyone

promoting

> violence or illegal activity from functioning as a spokesperson or

having

> any role in the organization. "

>

> " I'm troubled by this message and this industry that sells

unhealthy things

> and are so willing to sacrifice the health of consumers, " said Neal

Barnard,

> president of the physicians group.

>

> PRWatch, a nonprofit critic of the public relations industry,

lists what it

> claims are the Center for Consumer Freedom's sponsors on its Web

site. Those

> companies include Brinker International; RTM Restaurant Group, the

owner of

> Arby's; Tyson Foods Inc.; HMSHost Corp.; and 's International

Inc.

>

> Few of those companies returned phone calls seeking comment. A

Tyson

> spokesman said the company does " not share lists of organizations we

> support. " A 's spokesman, Denny Lynch, said the company has

supported

> Berman's group in the past but declined to say when or how much.

Lynch said

> Berman's group provides " a balancing perspective . . . another

voice " in the

> increasingly loud debate over obesity.

>

> Berman called PRWatch's list inaccurate and said the only reason

the group

> is criticizing him is because he had criticized some of its leaders

for a

> book they wrote about mad cow disease and its chances of occurring

in the

> United States. " They have had it in for me for a long time, " Berman

said.

>

> Sheldon Rampton, co-author of the book and research director of

the Center

> for Media & Democracy, which owns PRWatch, said his group first

learned of

> Consumer Freedom when the group attacked the book. But " we write

about a lot

> of groups and would have reached the same conclusion about him if

that had

> not been the case, " he said.

>

> Food industry officials who spoke only on the condition that they

not be

> identified by name or by where they work said that by keeping the

sponsors

> anonymous, Berman's group can be more vociferous, provocative and

irreverent

> in its criticisms than a trade association. Berman's " stuff is

factual, but

> everyone chooses the facts they represent, " one executive said.

>

> Berman agrees that his group can be edgier. " There's no doubt

about that.

> Most trade associations try to insulate individual companies and

brand names

> from cutting-edge rhetoric. "

>

> Over the years, the group's attacks on food critics have

intensified. Last

> fall, the group ran a television ad featuring the " Seinfeld " Soup

Nazi

> character barking at an overweight consumer, " Nothing for you! Come

back

> when you're thinner. " The ad asks: " Has the war on obesity gone too

far? "

>

> In February, immediately before and after the president's State of

the

> Union address, the group broadcast another ad, showing a lawyer

grilling a

> Girl Scout for selling cookies. " Learn more about lawyers cashing

in on

> obesity, " the ad said, calling on viewers to check out the group's

Web site.

>

> The center's campaign comes as Americans are bombarded with books

and

> documentaries criticizing the fast-food diet. While many

restaurants have

> introduced healthier fare to address these concerns, some are also

offering

> consumers even bigger portions, such as the Enormous Omelet

Sandwich at

> Burger King, the Monster Burger -- two one-third-pound patties -- at

> Hardee's and the Ultimate Colossal Burger -- two half-pound burgers

on a

> triple-decker bun with cheese -- at Ruby Tuesday.

>

> The immediate catalyst for this week's $600,000 newspaper

advertising

> campaign was an announcement earlier this month by the Centers for

Disease

> Control and Prevention that it had vastly overestimated the number

of deaths

> caused by obesity. The ads appeared in six major newspapers,

including in

> Atlanta, where the CDC is based. Ads will soon appear in

Washington's Metro

> system to get the attention of the nation's " opinion leaders, "

congressional

> staff members and other key government employees, according to the

group's

> spokesman, Mike Burita. In March 2004, the CDC published a report

linking

> obesity to 400,000 deaths a year in the United States. Three months

later,

> the Center for Consumer Freedom began challenging that statistic,

issuing

> its first of many statements saying the deaths were vastly

overstated.

>

> Last week, the CDC announced new estimates, linking 112,000 deaths

to

> obesity.

>

> Now, Berman said, the CDC needs to " come clean, to say it made a

mistake, "

> one that led to school boards, state legislatures and even members

of

> Congress calling for all sorts of restrictions on food sales.

>

> The CDC needs to announce its mistake " loudly and often, " Berman

said.

>

> But so far, the CDC appears to have no such intentions. " We still

consider

> obesity to be a major public health threat, although there's

uncertainty

> about the number of deaths from obesity, " said Hunter, a CDC

> spokeswoman. " There is no debate in our mind that obesity plays a

role in

> increasing the risk of serious chronic disease like diabetes, heart

disease

> and certain cancers. "